Registering system



pril', 1941. L SCHQTT 2,237,767

REGISTERING SYSTEM Filed April 13, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 8, 1941.SCHOTT 2,237,767

REGISTERING SYSTEM Filed April 13, 1958 3 SheeS-Sheet 2 April 8, 1941-*L. SCHOTT 2.2371767v REGISTERING SYSTEM Filed April 15, 193s 3sheets-sheet s a a as /A/l/E/V TOR BVA. SCHOTT DOUBLE TALK/Na ATTOQNEVPuenied. Apr. s, 1941' REGISTERNG SYSTEM Lionel Schott, East Orange, N.J., assigner to Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application April 13, 1933, Serial No.201317 (Cil, 23592) al Claims.

This invention relates to recording and registering observed subscriberreactions to the serv-` ice rendered by a telephone connection and theoccurrence of disturbing effects on the line and more particularly tomeans whereby an observer listening in on a connection can instantlymake a record on a moving chart oi any separate or simultaneousoccurrences oi certain predetervruined observed reactions by eitherparty to a conversation, or observed disturbances which might, but notnecessarily, cause a subscriber reaction and simultaneously therewithregister the total number of occurrences of each disturbance reactionrecorded, the total number of times any disturbances and reactions wererecorded, the total elapsed time each type of disturbance and reactionwas observed, the total elapsed any disturbances and reactions wereobserved, the total number of reactions preceded within a predeterminedinterval by a disturbance, called ioreground disturbance," the totalnumber ci predetermined sample intervals :following the ends of reactionperiods, the number of these semble intervals during which disturbanceoccurrences were observed, called background disturbance, and the numberof reactions observed which were not im mediately preceded within apredetermined interval by a disturbance which is a measure of thereactions observed for which no disturbance was observed that could beconsidered responslble.

The present standard method or technique of observing service on tollconnections is for an observer to listen in and note on a speciallyprepared chart, among other data, the number of times either of thesubscribers repeats, the presence of noise on the line of suiicientmagnitude, in the judgment of the observer, to be objectionable orinterfere with satisfactory conversation, cross-talk and cross-ringingfrom other circuits, breaks in the connection, etc. These records,however, merely show that a disturbance was noticed and also the numberof times a reaction occurred, but do not take into account theirduration due to the difliculty of accurately makine such a time record.

The invention herein described provides facilities whereby an observercan easily record and register both the number and duration of requestedrepetitions, adverse or favorable comments by the subscribers,simultaneous talking by both subscribers (double talking), low speechvolume from either end of the connection, speech distortion, breaks inthe connection. and

as many other occurrences as may be desired. From these recordsconsiderably more and quicker information about transmission conditionson the lines involved can be obtained with less effort on the part ofthe observer than is possible with the standard method.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a suitable manuallycontrolled mechanism whereby the foregoing records and registrations canbe easily and quickly made by an observer.

Another object of the invention is to so use certain parte of therecorded data as to obtain results indicating the degree with which thedisturbances act as probable causes oi subscriber reactions, the eiectsof the observers judgment and of usual tolerance on the part oisubscribers having been eliminated from the resuits.

.d feature of the invention resides in a mechanism consisting or twoparts, one a keyboard recorder' which makes a paper record showing thetime and duration of occurrence oi' notable events observed during aconversation between two subscribers and an automatic analyzing registermechanism, electrically controlled by the recorder keyboard, whichcounts and times all events recorded and also correlates certain,

causes or disturbances with contemporaneous reactions by subscribers.

More sbecically, the recorder consists or a keyboard provided with a keyfor each disturbance and reaction, which it is desired to record, soarranged that when a particular key is depressed a tapping bar isreleased which under spring action, ies iorward and marks a moving paperchart which is fed through the recorder under control of a drivingmechanism. To permit free movement of the paper the tapping bar isintermittently operated at a rate of the order of onefilfth of a secondas long as the key is depressed. Due to the rate of movement of thepaper chart as compared with the tapping rate, a substantiallycontinuous mark is recorded on the chart during-.the interval the key isdepressed. The markings caused by the individual keys are recorded inparallel vertical columns.

Associated with each key are electrical contacts included in anelectrical circuit extending into the analyzing register for controllinga, socalled master relay individual to each key. The analyzer alsoincludes a plurality of counting registers which are so connected andarranged as to be controlled by the master relays to register theforegoing described occurrences recorded -by the observer.

A further and more specific feature of the invention resides in the useof gas tube delay circuits associated with the master relays whereby theforegoing described correlation of a disturbance with a reaction iseffected.

The invention will be understood from the following description andaccompanying. drawings:

Fig. 1 of which is a schematic perspective of the keyboard tape recorderportion of my invention; and g Figs. 2, 3 and 4 when joined, with Fig. 2above Fig. 3, and Fig. 4 below Fig. 3, show the circuit arrangement ofthe analyzer register mechanism including the electrical control thereofeffected A by the keyboard mechanism. Similar referencecharactersvappearing in the different figures indicate the sameelements.

Referring to Fig. 1, I is the keyboard tape recorder, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 8,9, I0, II and I2 are keys for individually actuating the type bars 26for marking 'the tape 21. 28 is a conventional typewriter ribbonarrangement moved at a. slow rate between the type bars and the papertape and I3 are contacts, one set per keyV (except II and As theobserver hears certain predetermined phenomena, either a subscriberreaction or a disturbance, bearing on the circuit performance 'ortransmission, she4 willoperate the particular keyboard key, sodesignated, holding it depressed as .long as the reaction or disturbancecontinues, no attempt being made, however, in-general to, assign a causeor give any explanation for the observed effect.

If the observer hears a subscriber comment, either favorable orunfavorable, as to the quality of the transmission, as for example, Ihear you very Well, I dont hear you or hears either subscriber repeat atthe others request, she immediately depresses the properly designatedkey,

and holds it inthe depressed position as longas the reaction persists.Further, upon recognizing a disturbance on .the line, as forexamp1e,`1ow volume, clipping, a cut-01T; noise, cross-talk, etc., shealso depresses the properly designated key and holds it depressed aslong as the disturbance continues. l When the subscribers are finishedtalking the observer operates the time end key I2 which releases startkey II, whichstops the motor 3l and disables all the key circuitsA toprevent further I2) ,operated thereby, adapted to control vrespectivemaster relays such as I4, I5, I6, I1, I8, I9, 20, 2|, 22 and 23 'in theanalyzer mechanism of Figs.' 2, 3 and 4. -Keys 3, 4, 5 and 6 are forrecording subscriber reactions to the quality oiv the transmissionfurnished by the facilities including the circuit employed inestablishing the talking connection, and keys 1, 8, 9 and i0 are forrecording observed. disturbances whichl may, or may not, have an eect onthe conversation and cause'a subscriber reaction which may be recordedbythe keys 3,4, 5 .and 6. VKey H is a locking start `(call time) keyhaving two sets vof contacts 29 and 30 (Fig. 4) which'are closed whenthekey is operated at the beginning of the conversation. AClosure 'ofthe contacts 29 closes an obvious circuit for the motor 3i (Fig;

2) which advances the paper tape-21, and opv-v erates cams 32 4and 33which' periodicallyclo'secontacts 34 and 35, respectively, for a purposeto be later described.

.the start' key II.

operation of the analyzer.

'31 (Fig. 4) is a cumulative time register which operates once eachsecond, .under control of the cam 33 and contacts 35 associated with themotor 3|-, when its circuit is closed by theoperation of I 38 to' 49,inclusive, Figs. 4, 3 and 2) are also cumulativetime registers whichoperate iive times each second, under control of the cam 32 andcontacts. 34, when their respective circuits are nclosed, as willhereinafter appear. .llto 6|, inclusive, are cumulative registers`which' operate once each time their respective circuits are operated.It'will be noted, as hereinafter explained, that closure of key 8maycause operation of either .master relay I9 or 20 and their respectiveassociated registers and ciry cuits, dependent upon the position of'contacts 62 l and 6s of relayza.

which, when operated at the .close of the conversation mechanically Thegeneral method ltion in which a toll 'line to be observed terminates ina listening jack in the face thereof. The keya board I may be placedinsome convenient place on the keyshelf of the switchboard and thevanalyzer, whichis contained in a cabinet mounted on wheels, similar toa tea wagon, is convenient.

ly-located nearbyandconnected by means of a exible cable 36 with theykeyboard mechanism I. The observer is provided'with a lhead. receiver l(not shown) which can be connected to the listening jack of the line tobe observed by means of a cord and plug. ,l

When a call is to be observed the observerconnects vher head receiverplug with the jackland' listens to the building-up of .the connectionland when the called subscriber answers and the conversation commencesshe operates key, II which sets her keyboard mechanism in motion andthrough contacts 30 operates relay25 in the analyzer which starts timingthe duration of the unlocks 4key II' andpermits of operatingisasfollows: "Ihe observer usually sits at a switchboard posi-Registersas, se, an, 4| and 42- are operated five times per second under control =of cam 32 and 4interrupter contact 34 as long as theirrespective disturbance keys I0, 9, 8 or 1"are operated, regis- 4ters-43,44, 45 and46 also operate in the same manner as long as their respectivereaction keys '6,' 5, 4 or 3 are operated, register 41 operates at-thisl same rate asllong as any one or more of lthe disturbance keys10,79, 8, 1. are operated,

,. register 48 operates at this iive per second rate as long as any oneor more of the reaction keys 6, 5, or 3 areoperated, (excluding key4)..and4

Aregister 49 also operates atthis same time as long as either register41 or register 48, or both,

-' is'operatedfit being noted that operation of key 4 does not causeregister 48 to operate.

Registers 58,- 5I, 52, 53 and 54 operate once i each time theirrespective disturbance -key'circonversation and otherwise prepares theanalyzer4 A circuit for operation in response to actuation of keys 3, 4,5,'6, 1, etc. i

'cuits Ill,l 9, 8 or 1 'are operated, registers 55, 56, b

A51 and 58 operate once each time their respective reaction keys 6, 5,-4and 3 areoperated, register 59 operates once for leach period .Wheneverany1. one or more of the disturbance keys I0, 9, 8 or'14 are operated,register 60 operates once for each p period whenevervany one or more ofthe reaction keys 6, 5 or 3 are operated. (excluding key 4), and

register 6I also operates once f or each period that either register'59or register 60, or both, isl operated, it being noted that operation ofkey 4 A does not cause register 60 to operate.

It will thus be noted' that register 31 registers the time in secondsthat key II is operated, i. e.

the duration of the conversation, registers 3l to 46, inclusive,individually register the total time in fifths of a second that therespective keyboard keys I0, `9, 8, 1, 6, 5, 4, 3, have been heldoperated. Register 41 registers the total recorded disturbance time,register 48 registers the total subscriber reaction time minus thefavorable comment time, and register 49 registers the total time thatany of the recording keys, except 4, have been operated. Thus, forexample, assuming the case of the nearend subscriber talking, and lowvolume is noted for vwhich key 1 is operated for ten seconds, duringwhich period a slight double talk of one second duration occurred afterfive seconds had elapsed for'which key 9 was operated and a near endrepetition of two seconds occurred after seven seconds following theoperation of key 1, the count on the timing registers would advanceregister 42 fifty units, 39 five units, 44 ten units, 47 fty units, 48ten units, and 49 fty units.

Further, registers 5D, 5I, 52, 53 and 54 each register the number oftimes their respective disturbance keys have been operated, registers55,

55, 51 and 58, the number of times their respective reaction keys havebeen operated, register 5S indicates the number of continuous periodswhen any one or more of the disturbance keys were operated, B indicatesthe number of continuous periods when any one or more of the reactionkeys were operated (except key 4) and register l counts the'number ofcontinuous periods when either the disturbance keys or the reactionkeys, or both, were operated. Thus,

assuming the example of the preceding lparagraph, the counts in theaffected registers 5 4, 5I, 55, 59, 60 and 6I would have advanced oneunit in each register due to the occurrences of notable events intheassumed ten second period.

As noted elsewhere in the foregoing, the nurn- Iber and the duration offavorable comments (key 4) are registered only in registers 51 and 45,no special note being taken of them in the summator (Fig. 2) registers.

Associated with certain of the disturbance circuits, for example,clipping (far end), doublebe operated when the repetition key 6 isoper-- ated provided none of the disturbance keys (8, 8, or I0) has beenin an operated condition, and was released, less than ten seconds,before the repetition key 6 is operated,

Associated with the repetition cause registers (11, 18, 19 and 80) arecorresponding registers BI, 82, 83 and 84 known as disturbancebackground registers whichrecord the presence of the particulardisturbance when the respective key is operated in the interval betweenve and fteen seconds after either repetition key 5 or 5 has beenreleased, following its operation. provided the observation is still inprogress with key II operated.

Register 86 operates fifteen seconds after key 5 or 6 has been released,following its operation, and counts ythe number of times what is calleda background test has been made.

` carried on over a line between two subscribers.

Let it further be assumed that the ilrst item which attracts theobservers attention, as being worthy of record, is a request by thesubscriber at the end of the line nearest the observer, called the "nearend, as to whether the distant subscriber (far end) hears the firstsubscriber, to which the distant subscriber replies Yes perfectly,whereupon the observer depresses keyboard key 4 designating a favorablecomment (far end). Operating key 4 causes the associated tapping bar,similar to 26 (Fig. l) of key 3, to mark the tape 21 as indicated at 81(Fig. l). Operating key 4 also closes its contacts 88 thereby completinga circuit to operate its respective master relay I5 in the analyzermechanism (Fig. 3). This circuit can be traced from battery, winding ofrelay I5, contacts 88 of key 4, conductor 89 in cable 35 and contacts 90of relay 25 to ground, relay 25 having been operated when key II wasoperated at the beginning of the conversation.

Relay I5 in operating closes its contacts QI and 92 thereby actuatingitem register 51 and causing it to increase its reading by one unit, andconnects at contacts 92, ground, interrupted ve times each second, tosuccessively operate register 45 thereby increasing its reading at thisrate as long as key 4 and relay I5 remain operated. Operation of theregister 51 closes its contacts to operate relay 12 which locks at itsright-hand contacts and at its left contacts closes a circuit frombattery B2 to light the gas glow lamp 93 which continues to glow untilkey 94 is operated at the conclusion of the observation.

It will be noted that the readings of the registers 45 and 51 are notadded in the readings of the summator registers 48 and 60, or 49 and 6I,as this particular reaction is favorable to the service and need not beincluded in the total of the unfavorable itemsl If the distantsubscribers reply to the question Do youv hear me all right' wasunfavorable, for example, Not very well, the observer would haveoperated key 3 thereby operating relay I4 which operates'register 58 tocount the reaction, register 48 to time the duration of the distantsubscribers reply, and by closing its contacts 95 and 96 to operate thesummator registers 48 and 59, respectively. Closure of contacts 98operates register 6D, in an obvious circuit, to advance its readingoneunit and closure of contacts 95 connects ground, interrupted five timesper second, by contacts 34, to register 48 to cause it to advance instep with register 46. Operation of register BIJ closes an obviouscircuit to operate regis ter SI which also advances its reading oneunit. Relay 91 operates in parallel with register 6I and closes itscontacts to connect the time register 49 to ground interrupted fivetimes per second by contacts- 34, which circuit remains closed as longas key 3 is closed.

Let us now assume that a cut-off occurs somewhere between the twosubscribers thereby.

interrupting their conversation which may have been occasioned by anoperator accidentally with drawing a plug, by an accidental opening ofthe circuit by a testboard attendant, or by any one of a number of othercauses, whereupon the observer operat'es key l0 thereby marking the key-4board tape 2l and operating master relay 23.

Relay z'opera'tes the individual item and time registers 50 and 38 andsummator item and time registers SS and 41 in a circuit whichis similartothe circuit forregisters G and 08 previously described. Register ESoperates the grand total item register 6 and relay Sl in ,paralleltherewith, which latter relay in turn connects the grand total timeregister E9 to interrupted ground as hereinbefore described.

It will be noted that prior to its operation relay 23, at its extremeright-hand back contact connects ground to conductor 9S leading to thecathode of a gars-filled 'discharge tube S0 'which tube is thereforenormally conducting, the cir- -cuit for/ the discharge extending frombattery B2, .winding of relay liidanode and cathode o i' tube te toground on conductor 00 at the outer right back contacts of relay 23.Relay it, therefore, is normally energized and its contacts |0| areclosed thereby connecting battery Bl over similar contacts of relays|02, |03 and i0@ to the no cause register-05, contacts |05 and l0@ 1 ofrelay |00 being open under normal conditions.

Under this condition condenser l0? is charged to the potential of thebattery B2 in series with high resistance |00 (of the order of 5megohms). When key l0 is operated, relay 23 operates, as before stated,which opensfthe right-hand back contact of the fth armature from theleft, thereby opening the circuit for the conversation time register 3l,which was originally closed by the l operation of the start key li andrelay 35. The

reason for this is that it is not desired to vcount the time the circuitis not in conditionl for conversation. Further, at the back contacts ofthe 'second armature from the left, relay 23 in operating disables, byopening the ground circuit extending from contacts t@ of relay 25, toall other disturbance and reaction key circuits, ex-

-cepting direct adverse comment key 3,since operation of those circuitswould have no notable significance as long as the fcut-oif persisted. Noother disturbance key circuits have these two disabling features.

Relay 23 in operating also removes at its eir-l treme outer right back`contacts, ground from conductor 90 thereby opening the discharge cir-[through relay E00 which causes it to operate. ,y

not break down until the condenser has charged sumclently to raise thepotential across its terminals to the voltage which is suicient to breakdown the control gap of the tube and cause it to fire, whereupon themain gap (cathode to anode) fires, in the usual manner, and .current owsIn practicethe values of condenser |0'l and resistance I8 are so chosenthat the condenser will charge sucientlyvto cause the tube to break downten seconds after key is released.

It will be noted that, as long as master relay il is not operated,'there is no circuit to operate @he no cause register when relay |00 isoperated,-or to operate register 00 when relay l0 is released, and aslongas relay llt is released there is no circuit to operate register 84when relay `|00 is released; the period, during which relay l0 isreleased and its contacts |05 and It closed, being from the moment keyl0 is operated until ten seconds after it is released.

Now let us assume that the observer has noted a cut-oli and depresse'skeyl l@ for the period that the line is dead which, as before-described,causes relay 23 to operate, stops the stepping of register 3l, disablesall other disturbance and reaction master relays (exceptv that for key 3c ircuit), and causes relay .|00 to release which closes its contactsi055 and it thereby partially closing a circuit to operate registers 00land tl. As before stated, the foregoing conditions are establishedimmediately uponoperation of key l0. Relay |00 remains released for tensecond s after relay 23 releases.A Let it further be assumed that at anytime during the interval that relay |00 is released, that the near endsubscriber asks the distant subscriber to repeat, which is lan obviousrequest under the circumstances, whereupon, when the distant subscriberreplies, the observer depresses key s .to record the repetition.Operation of key S operates relay ll which closes its contacts iii toH5, inclusive, and opens its contact llt. AClosure of contacts H2 and'H3 causes operation of registers 60 and 08 as previouslyexplained'.Contact llt causes register 33 to operate andthe opening of contacts lltand closure of contacts H5 interrupt the normal dischargepath of gastube ill and closes a short circuit around condenser lid to cause itsdischarge inthe same manner as described for gas tube 99 and condenser|01,

cuit for tube @t and permitting relay |00 to rei lease immediately.Operation of relay 23 also closes -the front contacts of its extremerighthandA armature, thereby short-circuiting condenser |01 Y throughthe 1000 ohm resistance |00, and condenser |01 therefore discharges.

'Relay |00 in releasing opens its contactsl |0|,

thereby removing battery from the "no cause register 85, and closes itscontacts |05 and |06 which, however, have no eiect at this time.

When key- I0 is released, ground is again connected vtoconductor by therelease of relay 23 whereupon a circuit'is completed to ionize the gastube 99 by impressing the potential of battery B2 across the twosemi-circular electrodes (cathode and control electrodel. The fullpotentialrof, battery B2 is not applied'to the tube immediately as thecathode and the control elec- A trode are shunted by the now dischargedcondenser |01 vwhich immediately starts to charge fromV battery B2 t'oground at the now closed contacts of relay 23 and therefore the tubedoes the principal difference between this circuit and that for tube 99and condenser |01, being that resistance H9 is considerably'higher than,resistance |08, l. e., of the order of 7-1/2 m'egohms instead of 5megohms, which slows down the recharging of condenser'l I8 .for aboutfteenseconds instead of ten seconds as in the case of condenser' |01 andconsequently delays thereoperation of Vrelay |20 by this same amount,when relay l1 releases. When relay |20 releases, condenser |2|, whichhas been charged to the potential of battery B2 through the lowerwinding of slow-operate relay H0, is short-circuited and immediatelydischarges. When key 6 is released the short circuit is `removed fromcondenser Illand .when it has become charged (in approximately ilfteenseconds) tube breaks down rand re-energizes relay |20 which closes its"front contacts and condenser l2| starts to recharge from battery B2through the lowerwinding of relay H0, which relay operates due to thesurge of current owing into the condenser. When relay ||0 operates itcloses its upper contacts thereby closing a shunt circuit through itsupper winding for normally charged condenser |23, whereupon thecondenser discharges in this path which tends to hold the relay operatedfor a `slightly longer period. The relay H0, however, soon releases whencondenser |2| becomes charged and condenser |23 becomes discharged. Thecapacity of condenser |23 and the resistance |24 are so chosen that, incombination with the resistance of the upper winding of relay ||0, theflux of the relay is maintained for about iivetenths of a second afterit operates. Condenser` |23 is normally charged from battery B2 throughresistance |22 which is large and passes so little current as to havepractically no effect during the operated period of relay ||0. Thismomentary operation of relay H completes a circuit from ground, atcontact |25 of relay 25, to operate the background test register 86 andto cause the neon glow lamp |28 to be lighted as previously described.The closure of the lower contacts of relay ||0, which closes the circuitfor register 86, also connects ground to conductor |21 which ismultipled to contacts |28 of relay |04, contacts |29 of relay |03, |300f relay |02 and of relay |00, but as we have previously assumed thatkey 6 was operated during the tensecond interval following the releaseof relay 00, relay ||0 does not operate until after relay |00 reoperatesand hence ground on conductor |21 is not effective to operate register84.

Returning now to the operation of key E, and

master relay Il, this relay in operating also closes its contacts whichconnects ground to conductor |3| which is momentarily eective to operateregister 80 in a circuit which can be traced over the back contacts ofrelay |32, conductor |33 and the closed contacts |06 of relay |00through the register 80 to battery BI. Register 80, therefore, providesa record of the number of times the distant subscriber repeated, at therequest of the near end subscriber, within ten seconds after theobserver has released the cut-off key I0, which indicates the end of theline dead period. Relay |32 which is energized in response to theoperation of register is slow to operate and therefore maintains itsback contact closed long enough to energize register 80. When relay |32finally operates it opens its back contacts and remains operated untilkey 6is released.

Register shows the number of times that .a

cut-off was the possible cause of that number of repetitions by thedistant subscriber, i. el, probable effect of the cause or vice versa.

If the observer had noted what is termed clipping, i. e., the loss orchopping oif of a portion or all of the iirst syllable of a word, dueusually to a lag in the operation of some voiceoperated device in thetelephone circuit, she would have operated key 8, instead of key I0, andfollowing the release of key 8, if the near end subscriber requested arepetition, and the i distant subscriber replied within ten secondsthereafter, register 'Il instead of 80 will have been operated whichwill be obvious.

As hereinbefore mentioned, either master relay |9 or master relay 20with their respective associated circuits may be operated by key 8,dependent upon the closures of contacts 62, or 63, respectively, of,relay double talking and clipping occur simultaneously, the iirstoccurring and causing voiceoperated devices in the telephone connectionto act so as to produce the second, special note is 'taken of the,occurrence, called double talk 24. In a case when F repetition key 6only,

l clips, in the circuits of the master relay 20.

' circuit similar to that described above for relays 23 and |00 of thecut-off circuit. Here, however, resistance |34 is so chosen thatcondenser |35 charges more rapidly following release of key 9l andrelease of relay 2|, the time being of the order of two seconds. Thusthe circuits of master relay 20 are enabled for operation by key 8 foran additional period of two secondslfollowing release of ,key 9, thesetwo seconds being added to insure the proper registering of double talkclips" in case the clipping key 8 is still in an operated conditionafter the double talk key 9 is released, as it may normally be for aninstant due to reasonable delays in the response action of the observer.

While it is obviously possible, by the addition of other counters tocorrelate any disturbance with any reaction, it is not deemed necessaryto further complicate the drawing by such a showing. Further, i8, 19 and80 are controlled by the far-end as due to the observers location at oneend of the line, and her consequent lack of information as to conditionsat the distant end, vit is apt to be diiiicult for her to determine andassign a disturbance which causes the distant subscriber to ask for, andthe near-end subscriber to give a repetition. Hence, only the operationof key 6, which registers repetitions by the distant or far-endsubscriber controls the operation of registers l1, 18, i9' and 80.

If key 6 is operated at a time when none of the relays |00, |02, |03 or|04 is released, a momentary circuit closure to cause operation ofregister is elected, which can be traced from ground, contact of relayI1, back contacts of relay |32, winding .of register 85 and frontcontacts of relays |04, |03, |02 and |00 to battery BI. Register 85,therefore, counts each time key 6 is operated when no disturbance hasbeen noted during the preceding ten seconds.

In addition to registering the disturbance .causes which have possiblycaused the distant which would be discarded and not registered due rtoits operating circuit through contacts |25 of relay 25 having beenopened. This record is made on registers 8|, 82, 83 and 84 in thefollowmg manner:

As previously explained, the operation of key 8, 8 and 9 together, or 9,or |0 would release the corresponding relays |04, |03, |02 or |00 whichcloses its back contacts thereby partially completing a circuit tooperate its respective register 8|, 82, 83 or 84. Also, as beforediscussed, the operation of either key 5 or 6, and its subsequentrelease, causes relay ||0 to operate momentarily at the end of afifteen-second interval following the release of the key. Now, if adisturbance (clipping, double talk clips, double talkit will be notedthat registers Tl,

ing, or cut-od) is observed and its registration is begun or completedduring the interval between ve and fteen seconds after a registeredrepetition by either subscriber, has been completed, one of theregisters 8i, 82, 83 or 8B will be operated depending on whichdisturbance key circuit was operated. The background disturb-l ancerecords, it will be noted, differ fromthe Cil cause records as shown byregisters l1, 18, it

and 8D, in that these registers count repetitions which follow withinten seconds of the occurrence of a disturbance, whereas the backgroundregisters el, 82, 83 and 8d count the number of sample intervalsbetweeniive and fteen seconds after repetition periods are completedduring which time the disturbance was present. The

background sample intervals while thus chosen directly dependent on theoccurrence o repetition periods, are taken as typical of the intervalsduring which the disturbance level is fairly steady and of such amagnitude as to generally provoke no unfavorable reaction (such asrepetition) by the subscribers. It will be noted in connection with thebackground `registration that the relay il@ operates after the end ofthe fteen-second interval Ifollowing the release of key 5 or and remainsoperated for about five-tenths of a second, after which it releases andcannot be reoperated until fteen seconds afterv one of the keys 5 and thas again been operated and released. It a subsequent repetitionregistration is made which is made within the fifteensecond intervalfollowing the completion of an immediately preceding registration, therst background test is canceled and only the second will be effective tocause the registration. Similarly, the second attempt. of suchregistration would fail in case a third repetition followed the secondwithin fteen seconds. This condition arises due to the fact that relayil@ which nor- 93 are associated with each pair ot registers such as I9and 6l, 48 and 5B, 41 and 59, etc. and also with registers 31, 88 and85. Similar lamps could, of course, be provided for registers 11, 8|.1l, 82, 19, 83, 80 and 8l, but are not shown in the drawing. As soon asthe registers have been read, the associated lamp is extinguished byopening its locking circuit by the operation of the associated key suchas ,94 associated with lamp 93. Other types of signal lamps may serve aswell as the neon glow type shown.

It will be understood that additional keys may be added to thekeyboard'and assigned for recording and registering other reactions anddisturbances in commotion with the addltionbf corresponding relays,registers and other obviously necessary apparatus and wiring in the an-`alyzer mechanism.

The usual procedure of interpreting the foreground" and backgroundresults, after obtaining records on a plurality of the far-end repe-ltition occurrences and the background samples, is rst to obtain thepercentage, or proportion, represented in each for the separatedisturbances, as for example the per cent of the repetitions precededin' their foreground intervals by doublev talking and the per cent ofthe background samples in which double talking was noted, and similarlyfor other disturbances. Now in the cases of the more important types ofldisturbance, which disturbances have at times been of such magnitudesas to have caused some of the requests for the repetitions, the excessof each "foreground disturbance percentage iigure over that of thebackground percentage iigure for the same type of disturbance is takento rep- Y resent the actual percentage of the repetitions mally wouldhave operated momentarily at the end of the fteen-second intervalfollowing the rst release oi either key 5 or e, is not energized due tothe fact that condenser il'is again dischargedfollowing the completionof the second repetition before it has attained sufcient chargel tooperaterelay H20, thereby delaying the operation of relay llt. Then,- ifduring the ten seconds immediately preceding the actual operation ofrelay il@ a disturbance was noted so that relays i, 02, m3, and w werereleased, the operation of relay l i0 would cause the number T ofbackground tests register 56 to advance one unit, indicating that onebackground test sample had `iust been recorded, an'd would also .causethe. particular background disturbance registers 86, 83,32 or 8i toadvance one unit, indicating that during this sampleinterval the..disturbance was noted. The number of background tests register '86would, of course, operate in any case when relay il@ operates during thecourse of a conversation even though none of the background disturbanceregisters 85, 83, 82 or tl vwas which have occurred as a result of thepresence of the disturbance. The remaining vpercentage of far-endrepetitions, that is, the portion known to have been preceded bydisturbance but lnot included in the above excess group, would normallybe assigned to a group known as the unp accounted for repetitions. Fromregister Se (no cause) which counts the number of far-end repetitionswhose foreground intervals were free of notable disturbance, a thirdpercentage iigure is obtained and this indicates the percentage of therepetitions which were denitely not associated with any of thedisturbances noted. Y These percentage gures are of interest as theyrepresent indices of the effectiveness of telephone transmission.

As hereinbefore explained the observer (who must be reasonably diligent)records the occurrenc'es of notable disturbances in addition to theoccurrences of observed Vsubscriber reactions, with i no exercise "ofmental effort concerning the seoperated,` thereby indicating that thenormal or background disturbance was not appreciable at 'the time, butnevertheless counting such a samdisturbance was noted. Y

At the conclusion of an observation, the observer operates the time endkey i2, as before As before mentioned neon glow lamps, such as quence ofoccurrences. Thus the-above background percentage iigures represent, bythe observers notations, disturbance conditions in the telephoneconnection `which are apparently satisfactory to the near-end subscriberfrom the standpoint of repetitions. Included in each background gure,however, there are two factors,

p namely, a factor of forbearance" on the part of -ple along with othersample intervals wherein v I mentioned, and then proceeds to read theanl the subscriber and a factor of sensitivity on the vpart of theobserver. As these two factors are components of the background figure,they must be present ina like amount (percentage) in the foregroundfigure foreach disturbance, representing the cases when the foregrounddisturbance was apparently of no consequence to the subscriber. It isknown that, while the obyserver's factor of sensitivity remainsreasonably 2,237,767 constant. the subscribers factor of forbearance mayvary considerably between his conversations over different telephoneconnections, depending for example, on the length of the telephonecircuit, type of facilities, etc. of which the subscriber may be aware.For instance, the "background percentage figures for the imperfectradiotelephone connection may be several times greater than those forthe same types of disturbance noted by the same observer fromobservations on wire telephone connections of comparable length. Thus',the background percentage iigure may be used as an index for generalcomparison between different types of telephone connections. A`

It will be understoodthat, While the cause and eect" correlationtechnique and interpretation oi' the records are explained in terms ofthe disturbances and far-end repetitions, the same methods could beapplied in the cases of disturbances and other tangible reactions.

What is claimed is:

1. In a telephone service observing system for registering observedoccurrences and duration of a prechosen type of disturbance which mayaffect conversation over a line between two subscribers, and also forregistering the observed number of times, and the duration, either ofthe subscribers react in a certain manner, which reaction might b'ecaused by the prechosen type of disturbance. registering equipmentincluding first and second individual registers for accumulativelyregistering the number of occurrences of the disturbance and the numberof subscriber reactions, respectively, manually .operated meansindividual to each register for actuating the respective register, athird accumulative register, and circuit means therefor associated withthe disturbance register, means responsive vto actua.- tion of themanual means controlling the disturbance register to prepare saidcircuit means to operate the third register and' maintain it preparedfor a predetermined interval of time after the manual means is released,and means for closing said circuit means to actuate the third register,responsive to operation oi' the manual means, controlling the reactionregister, during the interval said circuit means is prepared.

2. In a system for selectively registering the occurrence of an observedcause and also the occurrence of an elect for which said cause might beresponsible, individual means for accumulatively registering the numberof occurrences of said cause and said eiect, a separate manuallycontrolled key for operating each accumulative register, a thirdaccumulative register and a circuit therefor, means responsive to theactuation of the key controlling the operation of the cause register toprepare said circuit to operate said third register and hold'it preparedfor a predetermined interval of time after the cause key is released,and means for completing said circuit responsive to operation of the keycontrolling the operation of the eilect register during the period saidcircuit is prepared.

3. In a system for observing service on telephone connections, first andsecond individual means for registering the occurrence of two notabledisturbances which occur separately, a third means for registering thesimultaneous occurrence of both disturbances wherein the second of saiddisturbances may be caused by the first, and

means for disabling said second means while said rst means is operatedand for maintaining said disabling for an additional predeterminedinterval following release of said rst means.

4. In a system for registering observed subscriber reactions anddisturbances to a telephone connection, a disturbance register, a rstmanually controlled means for causing operation of ysaid disturbanceregister to accumulatively register .the number of times a predeterminedtype of disturbance to a conversation is observed, a subscribersreaction register, a second manually controlled means for causing theoperation of said reaction register to accumulatively register thenumber of times a party to the conversation is observed to react to saiddisturbances, a background disturbance register, a circuit therefornormally open at two points, delayed operation switching meansresponsive to operation and subsequent release oi' said second manualmeans, for momentarily closing said circuit at one point after the lapseof a predetermined time interval following the release of said secondmanual means, and other switching means responsive to operation andsubsequent release of said first manual means for closing said circuitat a second point for a predetermined time interval shorter than thedelay interval of said rst delayed operation switching means.

LIONELSCHO'IT.

